The present invention relates to a new and improved method of preparing a self-contained ready-for-shipment package of printed products arriving in an imbricated formation. The present invention also relates to a package of printed products produced in accordance with such method.
At times throughout this disclosure reference to such method and package will simply generally be made with reference to printed products. While the description to follow, as a matter of convenience, refers to the processing of printed products, obviously other types of products can be conveniently handled, and therefore, the use of this term is not to be construed in a limiting sense in any way whatsoever, but merely is to be viewed as an exemplary and desirable field of application for the inventive measures.
In a method for forming packages from printed products arriving in an imbricated formation as known, for example, from German Patent Publication No. 2,752,514 and from the corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 4,140,052, the printed products are stacked in a vertical stacking compartment or chute. During formation of the product stack partial stacks or stack sections are placed in a cross-wise configuration upon one another. To obtain a sufficient stability of the stack formed from the superimposed stacked printed products the stack must be compressed during and/or at the end of the stacking operation. Subsequently, there is accomplished an intermediate transport of the stack formed of the printed products which are loosely placed one upon the other to a packing station at which the product package is provided with a protective cover constituted by, for example, a plastic foil by means of a wrapping machine. Then, the thus processed product package is provided with a strapping band. For the strapping operation, which frequently is performed in a cross-wise configuration, there is preferably used a cord or plastic strap or band.
As will be readily recognized from the aforementioned discussion, such a formation of packages ready-for-shipment requires a considerable expenditure with respect to apparatus and time. Additionally, the printed products must be compressed during the stacking operation and also during the strapping operation, as already mentioned. This is undesirable because during such compression there is the danger of smearing the printing ink which has not yet completely dried.
On the side of the receiver of the product package it is necessary to open the product package or package for removal of individual printed products therefrom. This requires releasing of the strapping band and in most cases, also removal of the protective cover. Apart from the work connected therewith the opening of the product package is associated with the disadvantage that the printed products are no longer held together in the product package which thus tends to fall apart. Furthermore, transporting of the opened printed product package to a different location may be quite troublesome or cumbersome unless the product package is restrapped prior thereto.
Other patents of interest are:
German Patent No. 2,207,556, published Aug. 30, 1983; PA1 British Patent No. 1,594,558, published July 30, 1981; PA1 British Patent No. 2,102,771, published Feb. 9, 1983; PA1 British Patent No. 2,121,772, published Jan. 4, 1984; PA1 British Patent No. 2,121,389, published Dec. 21, 1983; and PA1 British Patent No. 2,117,359, published Oct. 12, 1983.